[CPEO-BIF] New York City school leasing "loophole"

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE **
PUBLIC ADVOCATE FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK

May 6, 2008
Release #: 017-2008

PA Gotbaum: Legal Loophole Keeps Parents in the Dark on Environmental 
Cleanup of Schools
There must be a public review process and Council oversight for leased 
school sites

MANHATTAN – Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum released a new report 
detailing a loophole in the Public Authorities Law (PAL) which allows 
the School Construction Authority (SCA) to open schools on potentially 
toxic sites that could pose a health threat for New York City 
schoolchildren. The loophole allows the SCA to lease sites for new 
schools without community notification, environmental review, or City 
Council oversight.

The Public Advocate's report focuses on schools housed in existing 
buildings leased by the SCA. Some school sites have been found to be 
contaminated with toxins such as perchloroethylene (PCE), 
trichloroethylene (TCE), and lead. All of the schools discussed in the 
report have been deemed safe for occupancy by the state Department of 
Environmental Conservation. However, the communities involved were not 
properly notified or consulted about the environmental conditions. In 
the short term, exposure to these toxins can cause conditions like 
dizziness or loss of concentration. In the long term, many of them are 
known or presumed to have carcinogenic effects.

Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum said, "When it comes to our children's 
health, we can't afford to make poor choices. Choosing a location for a 
school is a decision that has a lasting impact, and right now, when the 
SCA leases property, parents don't have a say in the process and the 
City Council is shut out. State law must be amended to require a public 
process and environmental review of leased school sites."

When SCA builds a new school on property it owns, state law requires 
that it submit a site plan to the community board and the Council, give 
the Council the opportunity to vote on the plan, and conduct a public 
environmental review. However, because of the loophole in the law, when 
a new school is being created on a leased site, these requirements do 
not apply. Even when there are known toxins present, there may be no 
public environmental review of the site, no opportunity for public 
feedback and no Council oversight.

The Office of the Public Advocate recommends:

-Amending the PAL to require public notice and Council oversight for 
leased properties: Assembly Bill 8838 closes the PAL leasing loophole. 
The Public Advocate recommends that the State Senate pass Bill 7127, 
which amends the Public Authorities Law to include the leasing of any 
building or property, and send the legislation to the governor for his 
signature.

-Subjecting SCA leasing of existing facilities to the State 
Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA): Whether the SCA leases an 
existing facility or constructs a new building, it should follow the 
rules of SEQRA by conducting a public environmental review.

-Providing more environmental information about schools: The DOE should 
create a public repository available on-line that lists all schools on 
contaminated properties - especially those it leases because these sites 
currently are not subject to any public review.

-Providing communities with means for independent review: Having an 
outside consultant review the city's environmental testing results and 
remediation plans is a relatively inexpensive way to reassure parents 
and make conditions safer for children.


###

To download the full report, go to
http://pubadvocate.nyc.gov/policy/documents/schoolleasingreportFINAL.pdf




--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org


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